The K Team

by David Rosenfelt

Libby audiobook 6 hours

Read by: Fred Berman

Published: 2020

Genre: mystery, detective

 

I checked this out because of the dog! I saw a different book in the series and wanted to begin with #1. I had hoped it would be something like the Chet and Bernie mysteries. (Side note - it's "A new mystery series from the author of the Andy Carpenter novels" - do I want to see what those are about?)

 

This "review" WILL have spoilers, so stop here if you want to discover this for yourself. 

 

I'm not looking up character name spellings. 

Cory is the narrator. His dog Simon Garfunkel was his K-9 partner before they both retired from the police force.

Laurie is also a retired police officer and the linchpin of the group (IMO).

Andy is a lawyer, married to Laurie. (The Andy Carpenter of this author's other big series.)

Marcus is the muscle. He mostly grunts.

What I liked:

• The main character's insistence that his girlfriend Dani was too perfect and he would soon find a fault so he could break up with her. It sounds obnoxious, but it was actually pretty funny. He clearly really appreciated her as a person and she could put up with his commitment phobia.
• Yay! When Simon attacked the hired killer and protected Cory.
• The reader's vocal work was nicely done.
  

 

What I didn't like:

• not enough of Simon in the story! I thought he'd be key, but he was such a tiny part of it.
• the judge's death and disgrace. Even though he was vindicated after the fact, he was murdered and slandered. Yuk.
• the attempt to kill Simon with an arsenic laced steak. So glad Dani got to it first!
• So. many. Deaths. This was an incredibly disheartening look at the evil people will commit for money.

 

Basically, a group of very rich investors find someone who can "time" stock sales (within milliseconds) to game the system so they make lots of money. Extortion, blackmail, murder, etc. all draw the attention of the K Team as they try to solve a mystery. Not a series I will continue reading.
 

The Twelve Dogs of Christmas

by David Rosenfelt
Hennepin County Library audiobook 5 CDs
read by Grover Gardner
genre: realistic murder mystery

Andy Carpenter, Tillman, Caffey, Big Tiny, "Pups" and others made this an interesting story about a dying woman, a murder trial, and big money. I was a bit confused about the senator from South Dakota and the blackmailing, but it all came together.

I'm not a huge fan of courtroom dramas, but there was enough other stuff to make it work. Carpenter is a defense attorney who is working for Martha Boyer, aka "Pups" in a triple murder trial. It's fun to see him follow hunches and unravel what's really going on. I liked the Jewish elderly people who helped him with some computer hacking. I also liked gang leader Big Tiny . . . though he's a thug in his own right.

I enjoyed it, but won't seek out other books by this author. There are so many other things I like so much more.